Justin Dean Thomas

Photo by, Daniel Plenge

Meet Justin Dean Thomas

Steeped in the ethos of good old rock and roll tunes Justin Dean Thomas makes music chock full of good times. It may be unbearably cold outside right now but this NYC-based songwriter will warm up your winter. In our latest interview, we chat about their new single, NYC parks, and childhood toys.

Would You Rather

your bed breathe heavily, or narrate everything you are doing.

I'd rather narrate everything I am doing because I kinda already do that anyway. I think I once slept on a bed that breathes heavily and found out that ain't my thing.

Here's one for you:

Would you rather have giant ladles for arms or constantly have hot sauce coming out of your mouth?

Some Questions with Justin Dean Thomas

How did you come to find your unique vocal style?

I never had any type of vocal training but I always found such a great exploration in singing different styles of music and stretching my vocals and trying new things whether it was singing in baritone, falsetto or a whisper. I'd always aim for that place where your heart and spirit connect with what you are singing. That place where your heart opens up. I like singing and living out of that place. You can't take people places that you haven't gone yourself so singing is always a place of sojourning and catharsis and I guess style is what happens as a bi-product.....

What do you miss most about performing live?

Probably engaging with the audience on level where you're affecting them and moving them, and they in turn are giving you something back, those intangibles. There's that beautiful exchange that isn't necessarily achieved in live streams, the nerves, the tension, the peace, the sweat and hitting that place where you feel like you're walking on air and not doing but being. I really enjoy the camaraderie and exploration aspect of playing with my band as well, flowing with them and working off of each other and enjoying travelling through and inside the song with them. There's nothing like it.

What is the best part of being a musician in NYC? Why?

The Immediacy and accessibility of being able to do so many things by just walking out your door. A lot of the venues are so close to me in Manhattan and Brooklyn and there are so many different types of people that are involved from sound techs, producers, venue staff. I really appreciate the community of musicians in NYC. There is such a solidarity among the musicians I know and I've been really blessed to be able to work with so many artists that I respect. There is always an energy, resilience and indomitable spirit that a lot of the the musicians and artists here have. It's palpable and we work off of each other and with each other. I feel it's really easy to connect to a lot of people here without pretenses and in this era we live in there seems to be a feeling of 'we're in this together" and of sincerity.

Your 2020 single “Peach Rings” incorporates a bit of synth-pop. Was there any inspiration behind this change in your sound?

At the beginning of lockdown I was pretty limited in working with any conventional means of studio time or being able to work with other musicians and I was listening to a lot of lofi stuff with drum machines so I wanted to stretch my boundaries with the instruments I normally use and open up some new worlds. I was also nerding out on vintage analog synthes and some new pedals I had picked up. I still haven't even scratched the surface of experimenting with some of the gear but that was me making some in roads towards new palletes. When I was first writing the song I could see it when I closed my eyes and it had all of those components in it but I needed to learn how to use these new tools or painbrushes to paint it how I saw it. I was originally supposed to record an EP with Paul Simonon of The Clash in London but the Pandemic halted that. So regardless of the situation Paul and I started trading ideas and songs back and forth. He ended up playing bass on Peach Rings and really helped to co-produce it with Lucas Carpenter but I started most of it in my bedroom. I never want to stay in one area or style or get pigeonholed to any one particular genre or style so it's always good to be willing to see outside what I've done in times past and always push to go beyond my comfort zones, challenge myself and surprise others.

What do you think was the most transformative era of rock music to date?

That's really hard because the 50's was the beginning of it all and the 60's was so revolutionary and introduced so many special and unique artists and took rock n roll to the next level and the 90s was such a fantastic amalgam of so many things that came before it but still being all it's own thing. But I'd have to say that the mid/late 70's was one of the most transformative because you had so many new styles of music exploding onto the scene at once with some things overlapping. Not just for Rock N Roll but you had brand new genres in punk, new wave, no wave, disco, metal, glam, electronic, hip hop and they all influenced Rock N Roll greatly. These were new styles all together all happening at once and affecting each other. I think a band that best exemplified that was The Clash. They didn't want to be beholden to Punk but incorporated everything they were listening to seamlessly and sincerely.

What was the best toy you remember from your childhood?

My toy guitar and my tiny piano Hahaha

What is your favorite park in NYC? Why?

The Elizabeth Street Garden for sure. It's a little refuge and oasis here in downtown NYC. It's this beautiful sculpture garden with dense plants of all kinds and all these secret nooks that resemble something out of a fairytale to me. There is something really special about it that you can only understand unless you go there. It means so much to the people that frequent it and run it. I've performed there a bunch and the only real show I played since the pandemic was in October and man was I so appreciative to play there. It's been in danger of commercial developers building on it but Joseph Reiver and the board that run it have worked tirelessly to stave off the developers and fight so many legal battles with volunteers and the community.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Love isn't something you do, it's something you become, you can't give what you haven't received. Always remain a student. Let them go first, you can learn a lot from those that go before you, it's gratifying seeing others get to their destination and stand behind them and watch them enter in and you'll eventually get your turn. Listen with all that you have and speak from your heart. You don't have to like everyone but you do have to love everyone. And finally, beep beep, chocolate milk...